JVC Featured on This Week in Jacksonville with Kent Justice
Jacksonville Venture Competition (JVC) took the spotlight once again as Cheyenne LeMaire of Chang Robotics and the Chang Robotics Fund joined Kent Justice on "This Week in Jacksonville: Business Edition" from News4Jax ahead of the fourth annual competition.
Held August 19th at The Link in Nocatee, JVC brought six local startups to the stage to pitch live before judges, with the winner eligible for investment through the Chang Robotics Fund, alongside thought leadership talks, good food, and a networking happy hour.
LeMaire explains, "It is a live pitch competition. Think a Shark Tank-esque thing, but local to Jacksonville. We will have six local competitors competing across a variety of industries."
The competition traces back to Chang Robotics, the Christ-centered engineering firm that founded JVC in 2023. Founder Matthew Chang is passionate about Jacksonville and its growth, and investing in the community is one of the company's core culture traits. JVC is one of the ways that happens every year.
On what judges listen for, LeMaire points to three things: confidence in the founder, a space with high growth potential, and whether the company is investable from a paperwork standpoint.
"Are they confident on stage? Are they passionate about what they're talking about? Are they able to articulate it well? Are they experts in their area?"
The conversation also turned to Jacksonville's startup ecosystem, where LeMaire sees real change driven by the people who care about the city, from volunteers at events like JVC to organizations like PS27 and change makers across the region. The gaps that remain, she notes, are capital and mentorship, and JVC exists to help fill both.
"At Chang Robotics, we like to go first. We're not afraid to do that. If an investor is looking and interested to invest, they can follow us. We will do the hard work, the heavy lifting, the due diligence, and they can follow on with us."
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